


Keepers of the Lost Lore

by SorchaCahill



Series: Songs of Light and Dark [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-24
Updated: 2013-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-05 21:34:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1098841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SorchaCahill/pseuds/SorchaCahill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A drabble written for the 2013 Dragon Age Holiday Cheer for hey-lethallan in where Mahariel, Tamlen, and Merrill discuss what the elvhen have lost and the possibility of reclaiming it. Set pre-Origins.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keepers of the Lost Lore

“Do you ever wonder what Arlathan was like?”

“Why would I wonder? Arlathan is dead and gone. It is nothing to us now. If anyone did find it, it would just be a pile of stones. Nothing remarkable.”

“Tamlen, how can you say that?” Merrill gasped, spring up into a sitting position, her green eyes wide with disbelief. “It’s part of our history, part of who we are. You can’t just dismiss it away like that.” 

“Stop teasing her, Tamlen. You know well as I do that if we were to come across the ruins of Arlathan that you would be the first Dalish to go explore it. You never can resist a good adventure.”

Lessa trailed her fingers through the water of the stream she, Tamlen, and Merrill lay next to, sunning themselves in the afternoon sun. Summer was coming soon; she could feel it in the air. Spring had come late to Ferelden this year. The winter had been especially harsh, what with the clan losing a half dozen halla and two of their kinsmen to sickness and cold. But spring was here now and she could feel something coming.

It was foolish of them to be so lazy like this outside of the camp. Keeper Marethari would surely be most displeased, but it was such a lovely day and if a Dalish couldn’t stop and take wonder of all that Mythal and Elgar’nan had created, well, what kind of Dalish were they?

Tamlen rolled off the ground and onto his feet, the glow of excitement bursting through his skin. He never got more excited than when he was talking about the lost lore of the Dalish.

“Can you imagine what it would be like to stand in those halls? To be where our ancestors lived? To be able to recapture our legacy?”

“To see the realm of our defeat? Yes, I can imagine it would be quite lovely,” Lessa said bitterly. “The shemlen came and our people ran. There is no honor, no glory in that.”

“Perhaps that is true, perhaps not. But wouldn't you like to know for sure what happen? To uncover those mysteries, to take back what the shemlen stole from us?”

“I think that would be the most fantastic thing in the world. Keeper Marethari says it’s a Keeper’s job to remember, but how can we remember if we don’t seek out what is lost?”

“See, Merrill gets it! We should do more than just roam without meaning. We should search for what is lost.”

Lessa sighed, sitting up, her pleasant mood spoiled by all this talk of the past. What use was the past when the present posed such dangers? She could feel something… _off_ in the forest. Change was coming, she didn’t know what it was yet, but whatever it was, it wasn't good. 

“I think I should like to go on an adventure. To learn more,” Merrill said. Lessa could practically hear the stars that shined in the younger elf’s eyes. She wasn't much older than Merrill, but the her enthusiasm and energy, though occasionally infections, could wear on a person.

“Be careful what you wish for, _da’len_. Tamlen’s adventures have a way of getting others into trouble.”

“No more than yours do, Lessa. How many _shemlen_ have you chased away from our camps?”

“That’s different, Tamlen, and you know it. I do that to protect our people. Poking at dead things and snooping around old ruins does not protect our people.”

“Are the humans really all that bad? Surely not all of them can be evil.”

Lessa looked over at Merrill, a warmth spreading through her chest. Merrill’s innocence, her hope for a better world, while dangerous, was endearing at times. There were times when she wished she still had some of that innocence.

“No, _da’len_ , not all are bad, but there are enough that we need to keep our distance. We don’t want to end up like our city cousins.”

“I've never met a city elf but one day I would like to. I think it should be exciting to see a city. So many things to see.”

“You should be content to be with your people, Merrill, not those who submit to _shelmen_ rule,” Lessa snapped, immediately regretting her outburst at the crushed look on Merrill’s face. The knife in her heart twisted further as Merrill’s green eyes grew shiny with the wetness of tears.

“Merrill, I’m--no, Merrill, wait!” Lessa started to go after her but a hand on her arm held her back.

“Let her go, Lessa. You know Merrill, she’ll be fine in the end. She has a soft heart, easily bruised but quick to forgive.”

“I was too hard on her.”

“Well now, I’m not going to argue with you on that point but I know where your heart lies. You want to keep her safe, keep all of us safe. You take on too much, _emma lath_. It’s going to get you into trouble one day.”

Lessa smiled at Tamlen turning her words around. “You’re just like her, you know.”

“You mean adorable and hard to resist?”

“Well, that too, but I really meant your eagerness to search out lost things. I respect our heritage, our stories, but the Dalish life is hard enough without chasing after fairy tales.” Tamlen reached for her hand, covering it with both of his as he raised it to his mouth and placed a soft kiss there. A small smile lifted the corner of her mouth as he raised his head and looked at her, looked at her and into her. He had a way, Tamlen did, of seeing past the layers that other put up and seeing the person lying beneath.

“I understand why you are less than eager to reclaim our history, I do, but putting blinders on and focusing only on the present is not a good way to live. You have to accept all parts of yourself in order to live fully and searching for our past is part of that. Just look at our city cousins. They've lost even more than we have and it cost them dearly. If we do not want to share their fate, we must recover what was lost.”

Lessa raised her hand to his cheek, her thumb brushing over his cheekbone. His eyes were bright and intense with the force of his convictions. 

“You’re thinking of leaving, aren't you? To go searching for what we've lost,” she said softly. 

“Well, it’s hard to find something if you don’t go looking for it.”

“Tamlen--.”

“No, I’m serious, Lessa. I can’t just maintain what we have. We as Dalish shouldn’t just maintain what we have. How can we grow as a people if we don’t add to our history?” Lessa stepped back and turned away. She tried to focus on the stream flowing by them but her vision grew blurry with tears. She and Tamlen had grown up together, had seen each other every day. They had learned, under the tutelage the clan’s masters how to fight and hunt. There wasn't a time that she couldn’t think of when they hadn’t been together and now all that was about to change.

She hated change.

“You could come with me, you know.” 

Lessa wiped a tear from the corner of her eye, annoyed at its presence. Turning back to him, she saw the most earnest look on his face. A look he only wore when he wanted something more than breath.

“What?”

“You could come with me. Think about it Lessa. No Dalish that I have heard of has actively searched for Arlathan, why shouldn't it be us? We work well together, we always have. And when the next Arlathvhen happens in two years we can bring so much of our lost lore back to our people.”

“You’re assuming that we’ll find something, Tamlen.”

“So does that mean you’ll come with me?”

Lessa punched him in the shoulder, a smile curling up her lips. “You’re such an idiot.” Her face sobered at the thought of leaving. “How can we leave the clan, Tamlen? No one does that. Sure we exchange information and relics and occasionally apprentices, but no one leaves.”

“And that’s why we’re stuck in the cycle we have been for hundreds of years. Can’t you see it, Lessa? If we don’t do something and do it soon there might not be anything to find.”

“I just, I just don’t know Tamlen. Two Dalish on their own? With no one to back us up if anything should happen?”

Tamlen stepped forward, gripping her hands tightly. “Lessa, if anyone can do this, we can. You are one of the best fighters and hunters that I've ever seen. I’m not too shabby myself either.”

“And so modest too.”

“Well, I don’t like to brag, but--.”

“Liar.”

“False modesty isn't healthy for the soul. If you’re good at something, you shouldn’t hide it.”

“The Keeper won’t be pleased. By leaving we’re not exactly following the the Vir Tanadhal, especially Vir Adahlen.”

“If it were just me leaving you might have a point, but by the both of us going together, we’re embodying the very essence of the Way of the Forest. Together, there’s nothing we can’t do.”

Lessa stared into Tamlen’s eyes, measuring his conviction. His gaze was steady and unshaken. 

“Alright. When do you want to go?”

Tamlen let out a loud whoop of joy before grabbing her into his arms and spinning them both around. She was slightly dizzy when he finally set her down but the smile on Tamlen’s face kept her steady. His enthusiasm for his quest was catching and she couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Promise me one thing, Tamlen.”

“Anything.”

“That this adventure of yours won’t get me into trouble.”

Tamlen merely smiled at her.


End file.
